90 | Roman Empire

Automatically generated translation

VESPASIAN. Sesterce. (Ae. 26.14g / 36mm). 72 AD Lugdunum. Anv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM TR PPP COS IIII. Vespasian laureate bust to the right. Rev: T IMP AVG F COS II CAESAR DOMITIANVS AVG F COS DESG II. Titus and Domitian front shelves both holding spear and dagger, between UNC. (RIC 1185). VF. Very rare specimen.

The founder of the Flavian dynasty had behind him, and at the age of sixty, a brilliant military career that was what prompted him to be proclaimed emperor. His ten-year tenure in office meant re-ordering public finances, establishing peace on the borders as well as initiating major public works (after the fire that devastated Rome), including the construction of the well-known Roman Colosseum. .
Portraits appear on his coins that are, artistically, a continuity of the line established by Galba: uncompromising realism, severe lines and the absence of superfluous ornaments. It is worth highlighting the care in the representation of the hairstyles, both in those of the emperor, with a solid head, and in those of his wife Flavia Domitila, who despite her very humble origin ended up having the posthumous title of Augusta.